CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Policy Committee voted Monday to unanimously approve a base fare increase for the city's public transit system, allowing the cost of a bus ride to rise from 75 cents to $1.00 beginning in January.
The 33% increase in the base fare is part of a broader set of fare changes approved by the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority in October. While the MPO only had authority to vote on the base fare, all other approved increases will take effect January 5, 2026, regardless of Monday's vote.
Under the new fare structure, transfers—currently free—will cost 25 cents each. The 31-day pass will increase from $30 to $35, and the 7-day pass will rise from $7.50 to $10. B-Line paratransit fares will jump from $1.25 to $1.75, a 40% increase.
The vote comes after 6 Investigates first reported that MPO committee members were not provided with a Title VI Fare Equity Analysis that warned the changes could disproportionately harm the system's most vulnerable riders.
According to the equity study, 60% of CCRTA riders earn less than $15,000 annually, and 78% ride the system daily. The study found that 90% of riders transfer at least once per day, and nearly half make three or more transfers daily.
"If a fee for transfers is implemented, it would have a disproportionate burden on minority riders," the equity study stated. The analysis also warned of "a disproportionate burden on the households with the lowest incomes."
For a typical daily rider making two round-trips with one transfer each way, costs will increase from approximately $3.00 per day to $5.00 per day—a 67% increase. At that rate, a five-day work week would cost $25.00, or $100 per month.
CCRTA CEO Derrick Majchszak told KRIS 6 News that fare increases have been delayed for nearly 20 years and that the authority has invested heavily in system improvements.
"Over the last few years, we've increased security at stations, added new buses, and installed nearly 400 shelters across the community," Majchszak said. "All of these things cost money. Nobody likes raising rates, but the fact that we weren't able to do it for 20 years is part of why this increase is necessary."
The last base fare increase occurred in 2006, when it rose from 50 cents to 75 cents. Adjusted for inflation, the 2006 base fare would equal $1.20 in 2025, according to CCRTA's October presentation.
CCRTA has implemented several measures designed to reduce the impact on vulnerable riders. The GoPass mobile app will cap fares at $35 per month—once a rider spends that amount via the app, additional rides are free. Transfers will be free for two hours for GoPass users, offsetting the new 25-cent transfer fee for cash riders. Passengers 65 and older will ride free, compared to the current 10 to 25 cents depending on time of day.
However, the equity study reveals that only 7.73% of riders currently use the GoPass mobile app, meaning more than 92% of riders are not using the technology that would provide these fare protections.
Additional increases are planned for January 2028 and January 2030, according to CCRTA's presentation to its board, with the base fare ultimately reaching $1.50 by 2030.
